Latch handle



J. P. TARBOX LATCH HANDLE Jan. 8,-v T935.

Filed June 27. 1952 lNvENToR m3. M52 l Patented Jan. 8, y 1935 John' Tarbox, ,Phifadelp,Invii-1,;I ,1R-a@ ausgignon to.,

yEdward G. Budd Manufacturing.; Company..

` This invention relatesjto vehicles'and, more par'- ticularly 'toga fulllfvisionflatch operating*mecha= nismk fory the doors: Iti has 'for' itsjprincil'aal` ob`= ject, the embodiment 1in, a s latch m'echanism;.ha v= ing .preferably a straight actuating'spindle'posi':v tioned 'between the jamb facefof thefdoor. and the' edge. olfy va .,reciprocable, member" of l substantially fllfddor, width, of jan actuating, mechanism externall'yofthe door walls of substantiallyY-shape having'.onefarm ofthe Y secured" to'` the latch.

operatiiigspindle andlthe., other arm comprising than-rain. body. oiitle handle integralwith the ing mechanism. Door latches for vehicles inher-y ently must be operable from both the inside and outside. If the window is substantially of the full door width, some means of interconnecting the mechanism on either side of the pane of glass must be constructed.

This situation, generally involves either, the jamb face of the door having a protuberance thereupon and internally of said protuberance an interlinking mechanism connecting the latch and its operating arms at either side of the window, or having a straight spindle passing, between the edge of the pane of glass and the door jamb face, and either displacing the operating handles vertically or having them so close to the edge of the door, that serious inconvenience results or that the door appearance be seriously marred in which latter instance, the door handle is moved closer to the door edge than is desirable for harmonious contouring of the car body.

I have accomplished the above desirable features, while at the same time avoiding the above enumerated disadvantages, by constructing my latch operating mechanism preferably so that the door jamb face is not marred, a through spindle can be used and characterized by the outside positioning of the operating handle, visually substantially the same as under conditions` wherein the door window is appreciably of less width than the door itself.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a partial elevation ofiaveliicleb'odyshowing-thetdoorstructure einev bodyingthepresentinvention:

Eig; 2f' i'sfa pa `tial 7plan, inf-cross"sectionf'throughf thevehicl'e centenpostshowing the'-'cooperativ felation of tneparts. f Y -f 1 j 'f Eig. 8 is an enlarged section adjacenttlieflatch operatihg"V mechanism centrally jofflig."t l; y

' According 'to this 'invention Ipreferablyintere pose the' interconnecting' spindle, betweenrthei latchrmechanismandthe outside operatingvhani` l@ die, Ajuxtaposed between tliejramb face'ofv tliejd'oor and :the glass runchannel.'l` The`veliicle:body"constitutes` the customary sheet metalparts'halving frontmand'rear doors rotanti" lrarrangedi'to abut on either side of the B-post 12. The B-post is l constituted of sheet metal parts having a keeper 13 rin each of its opposite faces. The doors 10 and 11 are similar in material and composition with the exception that their peripheral contour is different, corresponding to the complementary 20 sections of the vehicle body.

The door has inner and outer walls 14 and 15 of sheet metal, the outer of which is reversely bent at 16 receiving a corresponding flange portion 17 of the inner wall, the two being in lockedy 25 relation and constituting the outer overlap ofl the door upon the crevice of the jamb. Secured to the inner panel 14 by suitable fastening means is a latch housing 18 having interiorly thereof the necessary lock parts. is arranged for vertical reciprocation within the door in suitable glass run channels 20 and 21 secured to the inside jamb faces 23 lof the doors respectively and another such channel secured at the hinge rail of each door in a corresponding 35 i manner. The latter mounting, not being a part of the present invention, is not shown, it being suflicient that the said mountings are substantially the full width of the door with the side edges 22 of the glass a very short distance from the 40 jamb face 23 of the door.

The slide channels shown are made up from two pressed metal members 24 and 25 having complementary portions 26 with a slot 27 adapted to receive the through spindlel 28 interlinking the 1 45 handle 29 and the latch housing 18. By means of the clockwise or counterclockwise motion of the handle 29 aboutl the axis of the spindle A-A the end 30 of the latch bolt'is withdrawn from engagement with the keeper 13 thereby allowing 50 the door to be opened from the outside. The door may be opened from the inside by a suitable handle 36 secured to a spindle 37 which passes through the door wall 14, the escutcheons or bearing member 38 to the latch housing 18. The 5,5

The window glass 19 30 Y its outer end.

spindle 28 passes through the outer doorwall 15 'and has an escutcheon or bearing member 39.

Interposed within the channel and between the metal channel member and the window pane is a suitable shock absorbing material 3l. The handle 29 is of substantially Y-section having one arm 32 simulating the usual escutcheon plate and thereby eliminating that member and hiding the bearingv member 39. This arm is secured near its outer edge 33 to the spindle 28 and at the opposite end becomes integral with the web portion 34. The web portion 34 is offset from the axis A-A of the through spindle upon the axis B-B. yThe other arm 35 of the Y-section con--l stitute's the main body of 'the Y and is removedf from the axisl A-A of the spindle to a degree in'- f between adjoining .han-' suring non-interference dles while at the same time not interfering with the eicient operation of the latch mechanism nor y marring the beauty and general outside appearance of the car. This would result with the handles placed immediately opposite the through spindle axis. 'This outer arm, tially the handle of the door, is integral with the web portion of the Y nearer its inner end than It will be observed that resulting from the construction shown no projections extend beyond the jamb face of the door, other than the lock bolt end 30, by means of which the door is secured in closed relation to the keeper. AThis di` rect construction between the lock or latch mech: anism and the handle 'gives a 'strong simplified mechanism with the eliminationof parts formerly constituting essen.v`

considered necessary.` It is neat and constitutes many desirable features of formerly numerous parts into a lesser number of simplied members as previously described.

kAlthough a straight spindle is not essential to my invention I find it to be the most simplified construction and it is most admirably suited to my improvements. Many modificationscan be apparent and I aim to cover thesein the'claims appended hereto and made a part hereof.'

What I claim is:

E1. Latch mechanism `for vehicle doors including yan oscillatable latch operating spindle extending across the door at its Afree vertical edge and means for` oscillating said spindle, characterized fby said meanscomprising a handle having a portion connected tothe outer end of the spindle and extending inwardly of the free vertical edge of a door a 'substantial distance along the outer face of the door; and a portion connected to the inner end of said inwardly `extending portion and extending laterally outwardly of the plane of the door, andaportion connected to saidoutwardly extending'portion rand extending substantially parallelto the outer face of the door in spaced relation thereto and arranged to be grasped by the handof anr operator. 1 2. The combination according to claimv l in which the last-named portion of the handle of said last-named means is characterized by a portion projecting over the first-named portion and substantiallyconcealing it from the outside.

' JOHN P. TARBOX. 

